I Want to Be a Male Sidekick!
Miso Orphanage, located deep within a quiet residential area in southern Seoul.
It was a place that had received everything from the Presidential Award to certification as a model facility by the Ministry of Social Welfare, and was even praised by foreign media as "a miracle space birthed by the Republic of Korea."
While it currently served as an ordinary child-rearing facility and a cathedral, its origins were anything but ordinary.
Immediately after the Korean War.
In the middle of a ruined village, a Korean-American nun had descended and begun stacking bricks with her own two hands.
The Miso Orphanage, built in such a manner, became a sanctuary for countless children over the decades, eventually winning the Presidential Award and establishing itself as "the symbol of South Korean welfare."
And now, a missing person report had been filed at such a place.
The content was shocking.
An adult male had run away from home, claiming he would become a hero, and all contact had been lost.
Immediately, the police in the Gangseo-gu area were fully mobilized.
From the riot police and the violent crimes unit to the cyber investigation team and the rescue dog team, every department moved in unison.
Missing person alert issued! One male from Miso Orphanage, location unknown!
Satellite GPS tracking in progress!
Confirmation complete! Subject is a 20-year-old male, Lee Hyunwoo! Last seen near a snack bar!
With cooperation from the United States even being coordinated, the police force finally arrived in front of that snack bar.
It was a danger zone, lacking even a "Male Safety Mark."
The police who arrived at the scene, gripped by an ominous premonition, removed the "blank rounds" from their firing protocols.
Everyone loaded live ammunition.
Now, if the commander so much as twitched a finger, every living thing inside the snack bar was scheduled to evaporate without leaving even a trace behind.
All for the sake of a single man.
Just as that "noble sacrifice" was about to take place.
"Aigoo, you're finally here!"
"Sob sob... I'll turn myself in...!"
"...?"
"H, Headquarters? The situation... seems to have been resolved?"
The police, facing the trio of robbers already tied up tightly by the citizens of the snack bar, could only stare blankly.
"Take this! Director Kick!"
Thwack!
"Gahk?!"
The "Small-Business Shoplifting Gang," a new villain group that had recently emerged as an eyesore in Gangseo-gu.
It was absurd enough that they were openly turning themselves in, but to have a "Loli-kick" suddenly fly at a hero in a scene swarming with police!
Hero Baek Seungha, who had been struck by a flying kick from the person who reported this incident, the Miso Orphanage Director.
She rolled on the floor several times before finally realizing that this was reality, not a dream.
"You rascal! Baek Seungha! I knew you were a troublemaker, but to let Hyunwoo face a villain? You reckless, damn brat!"
"Ugh, it wasn't a dream... It was such an absurd situation that I thought I'd lost my mind..."
"What are you realizing on your own! Come here!"
Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!
"Eek?! What are you going to do if my bones break like this?!"
"I don't care! You brat!"
Just as she was experiencing the humiliation of being dragged around by her hair by a Loli-director who looked much younger than her.
"Baek Seungha!"
She lifted her head at the familiar voice.
"Ah, Hyunwoo..."
Lee Hyunwoo, who had been receiving a diagnosis from the medical team, was running over with a face full of excitement.
"So, what were the test results?"
"Uh, uh...?"
"I was surprised because the opponent was a real villain, but we defeated them in the end. So, I passed, right? I'm going to be Baek Seungha's sidekick now, right?"
At those words, the gazes of the people handling the scene turned toward her in unison.
Murmur, murmur.
Before she knew it, Baek Seungha was at the center of the scene, receiving the most uncomfortable attention.
The people's gazes were cold.
No, rather than cold, they were eyes of genuine disappointment.
The looks directed at her were mixed with contempt, displeasure, and an incomprehensible anger of "Why on earth?"
No one said it out loud, but those gazes were already speaking.
'You entrusted a villain to a man?'
'A woman?'
'And you're a hero, of all people?'
Baek Seungha gritted her teeth, enduring those gazes.
Similar gazes, similar evaluations—she had received them countless times before.
Because a hero working in the shadows was always bound to be cursed at.
However, the issue of men was different.
She was truly crumbling right now.
Cold sweat flowed. She was suffocating. Her throat was so dry it felt like it was burning.
That was when Hyunwoo's gaze caught her eye.
He was just looking at her, smiling brightly.
There was no blame, no doubt. If anything, he was trusting her.
And that trust was all too cruel to Baek Seungha.
'I can't accept him... The moment I accept him, it's truly the end...!'
Baek Seungha had been repeating it to herself hundreds of times. She was gritting her teeth to hold onto her sanity.
However.
"What are you doing."
That single phrase seemed to pierce right through her brain.
"...Eh?"
"If you caused it, you have to take responsibility."
It was the Director's short, firm words.
"That's right, that's right!"
"To make a man wait as a woman, aren't you ashamed?!"
"Show us a woman's pride!"
Starting with those words, cheers poured in from all sides.
Among them were policewomen, middle-aged women, and even the tied-up robbers who were wiping away tears and nodding.
"Ugh...!"
She was holding on.
To keep from being caught trembling all over, she pressed her lips together and put strength into her fingers.
However, Hyunwoo's gaze remained unchanged.
That face smiling brightly without knowing anything, that gaze that seemed to say, "I trust you."
And that gaze quietly shattered even Baek Seungha's last shred of pride.
"...Okay. Let's do that."
"Yes!"
She shed tears, and in the end, she decided on a sidekick in Korea—a man, at that—whom she was supposed to find in the United States.
Indeed, dreams eventually come true.
The morning of the day after the snack bar incident ended.
As usual, 7:00 AM.
Wake up.
The start of a regular day, always going to sleep at 11:00 PM and waking up at 7:00 AM.
And the routine of warming up by running a few laps around the playground in front of the orphanage.
But today, it was different.
Same scenery, same time, same place, yet today everything felt different.
Because today was the first step toward becoming a hero.
It meant it wasn't just an ordinary morning, but a day that would change my life.
I took a breath and slowly began to take a step forward.
"Sister, good morning~!"
"Oh, Hy... Hyunwoo...?"
Waving brightly at Sister Hayeon, who was leaving the prayer room after the dawn mass, I headed to the guest room without hesitation.
Of course, one thing before that.
I didn't forget the coffee that the "Master" liked.
Instant mix coffee with plenty of sugar! Holding the coffee cup made like that, I made a vow once again.
'Starting today, I'm becoming a real hero!'
As soon as I opened the door, the familiar scenery came into view.
The person sitting on the sofa with her legs crossed, looking down at me with her arms folded.
Master Baek Seungha.
"Master, I've brought coffee."
"Oh... right... instant..."
"Yes?"
"No, I mean it's great..."
Having made coffee for her for over ten days, I had already grasped that the Master's taste was on the "extremely cheap" side.
Rich beans?
Hand-drip?
There's no such thing.
Mix coffee.
And at a ratio of 3 sugar to 1 coffee.
Every time she took a sip of that.
"Ugh...!"
That reaction where her eyebrows twisted, veins popped on the back of her hands, and her whole body trembled with a thrill.
That expression, which would make anyone think she was drinking poison, meant "delicious" to her.
So that must be why she readily accepted the coffee I made every time without a word.
"Anyway, Master! So, I'm your exclusive sidekick starting today, right?!"
"Oh... well... that's right, well... I can't take it back now..."
Re-confirmation completed, sneakily.
"Great! Day 1 as a sidekick! What kind of training shall we do today?"
And, is this what a US-affiliated hero is like?
"Hmm."
The Master didn't say anything for a while.
Her expression was subtle, and cold sweat was beading on her forehead.
She had a face that was seriously contemplating something.
'As expected... she's testing me!'
She's judging whether I can handle it, whether I have the resolve to become a real hero, all in this very moment!
I nodded to myself.
'Yes, Master. I am prepared.'
And finally.
"Ahem! W, well... to be my sidekick, you know. You have to be at least at a similar level to me."
At those words, I was thrilled.
"Ohh...! A similar level, I see!"
"Y, yes! To do that, first you have to train your body."
Actually, thinking about it, it was obvious.
A sidekick is an assistant who guards the hero's side.
But the current me was nothing more than an "ordinary man."
In this world, the "supernatural ability" called an ability was a power that only manifested in women.
As a man, I had no abilities from birth.
My physical strength was ordinary, and I didn't know how to do anything, let alone use a weapon or defend myself.
On top of that, the prejudice that "men are weak" was firmly established as a natural truth in this world.
That was why I had to train even harder.
"So, that's why. From now on, I'm going to turn your body into a 'killing machine'."
"Gulp...!"
A killing machine.
A thrill ran through my whole body.
Training that grinds bones and tears flesh was painted before my eyes.
Perhaps special forces training?
Or bare-body training in high-altitude areas?
If not that, then... awakening abilities through strong drug injections?
I swallowed my breath and sat up straight.
"And... if you do it wrong in the middle, you could die."
"I am prepared!"
The essence of hero training, finally revealed.
The Master opened her mouth heavily.
"100 sit-ups every day, 100 push-ups, 100 squats, and a 10-kilometer run!"
"Ohhh! ...Huh?"
Isn't this a bit weaker than the military guerrilla training I did in my past life?
"For your information, if you think you're going to die in the middle, raise your hand! Then!"
"Then...?"
"...I'll bring you water."
...This kind of thing is hell training?
It was a training method that was a little... no, very different from the "killing machine" I had imagined.